The present disclosure relates to a visual apparatus and a visual method, which support the vision of mainly human beings.
Development of an artificial retina chip and the system thereof has been performed as an aid for mainly those having visual impairments in the past in Germany, Japan, or the like. As the artificial retina chip, a retina chip including a plurality of micro-photodiodes is disclosed in, for example, Subretinal electronic chips allow blind patients to read letters and combine them to words (Proceedings of the Royal SocietyB), 10.1098/rspb.2010.1747 (http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/11/01/rspb.2010.1747.full) (as of filing date), and a finer retina chip has been produced. The retina chip is configured by integrating the micro-photodiodes and electrodes for outputting electric signals generated by the micro-photodiodes. Specifically, the number of the electrodes is the same as that of the micro-photodiodes, and the electrodes are provided in array. The retina chip is embedded in an eye ball so that the electrodes are brought into contact with the retina.
The artificial visual apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-254489 includes a zoom lens, an artificial retina, and a photoelectric conversion apparatus in the stated order from a light incident side. A micro lens array is provided in the photoelectric conversion apparatus (see, for example, paragraph [0008] in the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-254489).